Top bunker refrigerator car



May 20, 1941. c'. D. BoNsALL TOP BUNKER REFRIGERATOR CAR Original Filed Nov. 22, 1937 Patented May 20, 1941 rice TOP BUNKER REFRIGERAITOR CAR Charles D. Bonsall, Pittsburgh, Pa., assigner, by

mesne assignments, to :Standard Railway Refrigerator Company, a corporation of Delaware Original application November 22, `1937, Serial No.

175,762. Divided and this application January 11, 1939, Serial No. 250,404

2 Claims.

The invention relates to refrigerator cars for handling perishable commodities and more particularly to what is known as the top bunker type of refrigerator car wherein an ice container is positioned adjacent the roof of the car and provided with a drip pan therebelow and spaced therefrom to provide a substantially horizontally disposed flue which communicates with a vertical flue associated with the vertical wall'of the car, whereby air in the horizontally disposed flue being cooled and densied by the ice in the refrigerant container is caused to descend through the Vertical flue from whence it rises through the foraminous floor and then through the lading, and being warmed thereby, reenters the horizontally disposed iiue and repeats the cycle.

One of the objects of the invention is to form the ice container so that a part of the melted ice will pass through the bottom Athereof to the drip pan and a part of the melted ice will be temporarily retained in the container so that the melted ice so temporarily retained will help cool the air circulating through the horizontally disposed iiue.

Another object is to provide means in the lower parts of the container so as to allow the melted ice to gradually escape from the container into the horizontally disposed flue over the drip pan so as to help cool the air circulating in the flue,

Another object is to form the lower parts of the container so as to retard the service movements of the car from swishing melted ice over the bottom of the container.

In the drawing:

Fig. l shows part of a cross section of a railway refrigerator car incorporating some of my inventions.

Figs. 2 and 3 show the container in detail.

In the form of the invention illustrated one or more refrigerant chambers or containers 2 are preferably positioned on each side of the center line 3 of the car adjacent the roof 4 of the car and also preferably adjacent the side or other vertical wall 5 of the oar. I-Iatchways 3 are provided in the roof above the container 2 for loading it with ice or other refrigerant. rlhe usual hatch plug 'I and hatchway lid are used. The partition I5 is held in spaced relation to the side wall 5 by a series of vertical pieces I2 to form vertical flues I3 associated with the side wall 5. The insulated horizontally disposed partition or drip pan I5 is positioned below the refrigerant container 2 and spaced therefrom to provide a substantially horizontally disposed flue I5, which flue, however, inclines downwardly toward and communicates with the vertical flue I3. A partition or member I'I extends upwardly from the inner margin of the drip pan I5 and is spaced from the refrigerant container 2 to provide a short vertical flue I8. The vertically disposed members I1 on opposite sides of the center line 3 of the car are spaced apart to provide an air channel or passageway 2|. A floor rack or foraminous false oor 23 rests upon the insulated floor 24 and is spaced therefrom to provide a horizontal flue 25 which communicates with the vertical nue I3.

In such a refrigerator car air in the horizontally disposed flue l5 being cooled and densied by a refrigenant in the refrigerant container 2 moves down the downwardly and outwardly inclined drip pan I5 into the vertical flue I3, thence into the space 25 below the lading and rising through the apertures 25 in the foraminous floor 23, passes through or between the lading and being warmed and rarefied by the lading, rises and passes upwardly through the passageway 2| and vertical flue I8 into the horizontally disposed flue I6 from whence the cycle is repeated.

Fig. 2 shows a container wherein the bottom thereof comprises a plurality of channel shaped members 50 with spaces-5I therebetween so that part of the melted ice is temporarily retained between the upwardly projecting flanges 52 of the members and part of the melted ice will pass through the spaces 5l. The webs 53 may be provided with a plurality of relatively small apertures 54 distributed over a large area oi the bottom of the container for the purpose heretofore described. The flanges 52 preferably extend between (and are preferably secured to) the opposite walls 55 of the container.

Fig. 3 shows a container wherein the bottom thereof is downwardly and outwardly inclined with the webs 50 of the spaced apart channel shaped member 6I in the same plane and with the flanges 52-53 of each channel being of different lengths so that the upper edges of the flanges 62-53 of the same channel are in a horizontal plane, thus reducing the tendency of the ice from moving to the lower plart of the container.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

This is a division of my co-pending application Serial N0. 175,762, led November 22, 1937, which has now matured into Patent No. 2,168,557, dated August 8, 1939.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car comprising a wall having a vertical ue associated therewith, a wet ice container and a drip pan positioned below and spaced from the container which drains melted ice from the container into the Vertical ue and also forms a duct for circulation of air from under the container to said flue, the bottom of said containerI comprising a plurality of upwardly facing channel shaped members with substantially vertical passages therebetween which temporarily retain the melted ice in heat transfer relation with the circulating air.

2. A wet ice container adapted for use in a refrigerator ear wherein said car has a duct for air circulation arranged so that the bottom of the container forms a bounding wall of the duct, said bottom comprising a plurality of upwardly facing channel-shaped members with substantially Vertical passages therebetween which temporarily retain the melted ice in heat transfer relation with the air circulating through said duct.

CHARLES D. BONSALL. 

